7 Signs You Should Expand Your Business

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Things are going well with the business, but you suspect it could go even better. Then maybe it’s time to expand. Whether it means hiring new people, opening up another branch, or extending your offering, expanding your business can be the difference between merely treading water and breaking new boundaries.

However, not every business is in a position to expand. Expanding your business before the right time can have disastrous consequences. So first see if any of these seven signs are applicable to your business.

1. You’re not meeting demand –

As far as business issues goes, not being able to meet the demand is certainly one of the better issues to have. Nevertheless, it is a sign that you’re not operating at maximum capacity and could stand to take it up a few notches.

2. Your customers’ needs have changed –

A basic form of expansion is to look at your current customer base, and if their needs are changing, adapting your business’ offering to cater to them. In any case, whenever considering expansion, it’s important to take into account what it is that your customers want.

3. Expanding will expose you to more customers –

Expansion won’t necessarily increase your customer base, but if it will, that’s a good reason to consider venturing into new terrain.

4. You have done your homework and you understand all the risks –

There’s always going to be that element of risk in expanding, but it should never be attempted without thoroughly researching the whole situation. If you’ve evaluated an expansion and all looks manageable, then it’s a sign that your business could benefit from expanding.

5. You have a good track record and business is smooth –

It’s a good principle that you should rather iron out any issues you currently have, before you think of getting bigger. Expansion that’s built on a strong foundation will likely be strong too.

6. The competition is expanding –

If your competitors have been expanding, and are as a result taking business away from you, you might need to expand to keep up and maintain a decent-sized slice of that market share pie. You shouldn’t react to everything your competition does though, so first make sure it’s the right move for you regardless.

7. You’ve become a big fish in a small pond –

If your business is enjoying success, but you’ve hit a glass ceiling, then it might be time to swim upstream in search of new waters. However, know that just because you’re a big fish now, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be able to replicate that success in a bigger pond. So as always, make sure you weigh the pros and cons of this big move.